Nintendo’s New President Has Been an Avid Gamer Since the Famicom

Nintendo just announced that Tatsumi Kimishima is stepping down after serving as the company’s President for three years. Pending a later vote, Kimishima will be replaced by the much younger (46) Shuntaro Furukawa. Some fans were initially skeptical of Kimishima, as his background was entirely rooted in the business rather than game development. As it turns out, Furukawa’s career echoes that of Kimishima.

Both men worked with The Pokémon Company before ascending up the corporate ladder to head up Nintendo proper. Like Kimishima, Furukawa has no background in video game development, but that doesn’t mean he’s a generic money-minded CEO lacking a true passion for games.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Furukawa revealed that he’s been an avid gamer for around three decades. Nintendo’s new President grew up playing Famicom, the Japan-only precursor to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

“I grew up playing the Famicom and come from that generation. Now as a member of management with Super Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto, I have a lot of respect for him. On the other hand, with this new job that can’t just be it, so I expect to say what needs to be said to run the company.”— Shuntaro Furukawa

Furukawa’s love of games is well-known. In a separate story from The Wall Street Journal, analyst Hideki Yasuda revealed that he has approached Furukawa to discuss data about the company, but the conversation usually gets sidetracked into a friendly discussion about video games. Furukawa has also revealed that his favorite recently-released game is indie exclusive Golf Story on Nintendo Switch.